The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-23
SINKING AN ARTEsIAN WELL.
How the Morning News Establishment
Is to Get It's Extra Water Supply.

How the Morning News Establishment
Is to Get It's Extra Water Supply.
1t is fact, though not generally known,
that the first attempt to sink an artesian
well in Savannah was made in the MORNING
NEWS building in the fall Of 1884.
The establishment has had for years a re-
serve water supply in an ordinary well sunk
below the basement Of the building, but the
growth of its business required more steam,
and additional steam more water, and the
failure of the city's water supply on several
occasions demons,ra the fact that the
reserve water supply was totally inadequate
to any extraordinary emergency This Is
still the state of affairs, even to greater eX-
tent than it was at the time referred to.
During the accidents to the water works
some months since the fire department had
to supply the MORNING NEWS office with
water by line of hose from the river, to
enable it to get out the regular editions of
the newspaper, while its job and manufac
turing departments had on one occasion to
stop operations for a whole day from a
break in a water main.
In the summer of the year referred TO
there was considerable said in the
newspapers about arteSian wells
being bored i'll different towns in Middle
Georgia, and the MORNING NEWS sent Mr..
l.. A. Mccarthy, the engineer and machin-
ist of the establishment, to Fort Valley,
where well was being sunk, to investigate
the n,Odus operdndi. Upon his return he
reported that he thought it entirely practi-
cable to bore an artesian well in the base
ment of the MORNING NEWS building and
that flow of water could be obtained at
moderate cost.
Acting ON his report TIE necessary ap-
planes were procured, and work was be
gun i'll October 1884. Owing to the cramped
80 .s.I.A l.
work progressed slowly, and when depth
of seventy-five feet was reached operations
had to be discontinued, because of additions
and changes in the basement of the build
ing, making it almost impossible to work
the boring machinery. Soon after that the
MORNING NEWS building was rebuilt and
enlarged, and the old well was practically
abandoned
The idea Of securing supply of artesian
water was not given up, however, and it
was the intention to have a well as soon as
circumstances would permit. Everything
being In such condition that the work
could be done without interfering with the
daily routine business of the establishment,
work IVES commenced on a new well last
week, and up to last night the piping had
been sunk to depth Of 1870 feet. The well
is located almost in the centre of the build
ing used by the job department. immediate
ly under the hatchways, which extend from
the bottom to the top of the building. A
driving and boring derrick is built up the
hatchways, and the machinery4s driven by
one of the engines in the basement.
The well is four inches in diameter and it
IS expected that it will be about 400 feet in
depth, which is the usual depth at which
supply of water is obtained from wells III
this locality Unless some unforeseen acct
dent occurs it is probable that the well
will be finished within the next two wee6s.